J Vet Clin 26(6) : 625-627 (2009)
625
Dermatitis Associated with Treponematosis in Pet Rabbits
Sang-Hun Kim, Sang-Eun Lee
*, Kun-Ho Song and Duck-Hwan Kim
1College of Veterinary Medicine and *Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Korea
(Accepted : December 09, 2009)
Abstract :Treponematosis, called rabbit syphilis, is an infectious disease caused by Treponema cuniculi in rabbits.
In this case report, five rabbits were presented with severe crusts in lips, genitalia and nose. Skin scrapings and fungal test were negative. Human syphilis antibody test was positive. The rabbits were treated with penicillin and chloramphenicol for 3 weeks and the crusts were significantly decreased from 5 to 7 days after treatment. No crusts were evident in the rabbits 3 weeks after treatment. These rabbits were cases of treponematosis which showed a favorable therapeutic response by penicillin and chloramphenicol.
Key words :chloramphenicol, penicillin, rabbit, syphilis, treponematosis.
Introduction
Treponematosis, caused by the spirochete Treponema cuni- culi (T. cuniculi), is an infectious disease in rabbits that is transmitted by sexual and direct contact (1,2,5). This disease may be called rabbit syphilis or vent disease. Although T.
cuniculi is antigenically similar with human syphilis, Tre- ponema pallidum, it is not a zoonotic disease. Antibodies to T. cuniculi do cross react with antigens of T. pallidum (1,5).
Clinical signs are asymptomatic but can cause crusty and edematous lesions on the nose, lips, eyelids or genitalia.
Diagnosis can be made by skin biopsy or serology. Penicil- lin, tetracyclines and chloramphenicol have been used to treat treponematosis (1,2,4,5).
There have been no published reports about rabbit trepone- matosis in Korea. Here, the authors report 5 cases with tre- ponematosis which showed a favorable therapeutic response with penicillin and chloramphenicol treatment in pet rabbits.
Case
Five rabbits (4 to 10 months old, 0.9 to 1.7 kg, three males and two females) were presented with chief complaints of crusts around lips, nose and genitalia (Table 1). Case 1 had been treated for fungal infection in another animal hospital for 2 months. However, the lesions were repeated recovered and reoccurred (Fig 1A). The remaining four cases were brought to the animal hospital for their initial diagnosis and treatment. Skin scrapings and fungal test were negative.
Human syphilis antibody test (Asan Easy test Syphilis®, Asan Pharm Co., Ltd, Korea) was positive. The rabbits were
treated with three shots of penicillin G 42,000 IU/kg (Penicil- lin®, Green Cross Veterinary Products co., Ltd., Korea) given every 7-days and oral chloramphenicol 50 mg/kg (Helocetin Cap®, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical co., Ltd., Korea) twice a day for 3 weeks. The rabbits were re-evaluated at 1, 2, 3 and 6 weeks after treatment. Owners observed that the crusts were significantly decreased from 5-7 days after treat- ment. After the 3 weeks treatment period, there were no crusts observed in the rabbits (Fig 1B). The rabbits were treated successfully without adverse reactions such as anor- exia and diarrhea. No recurrence was detected at 3 to 4 months after treatment.
Discussion
In this case report, five rabbits with treponematosis were successfully treated with penicillin injections and oral chloramphenicol. No adverse reactions occurred to the antibi- otics and treponematosis did not recur at 3-4 months after treatment.
Treponematosis is non-zoonotic and transmitted by vene- real and vertical at parturition and lactation. Incubation period is 10-16 weeks. First lesions appear at genitalia.
1Corresponding author.
E-mail: [email protected]
Table 1. Signalments and skin lesions in rabbits Case No. Breed Age
(Months) Gender Skin Lesions
1 Dutch 7 F Lips and nose
2 Lion-head 4 M Lips
3 Dutch 5 F Lips
4 Mongrel 4 M Lips and nose
5 Lion-head 10 M Lips and genitalia
626 Sang-Hun Kim, Sang-Eun Lee, Kun-Ho Song and Duck-Hwan Kim
Grooming activity by rabbit leads to infection lips, nose and eyelids (5). Saito et al. (3) reported detection of lesions around nose (87.3%), genitalia (34.9%), lips (31.7%), eye- lids (19.0%) and anus (15.9%). In this case report, only one of five rabbits had edema and crusts of genitalia and the oth- ers had lesions of lips or nose.
Treatment options for treponematosis are penicillin, tetra- cyclines and chloramphenocol (1,2,4,5). Saito et al. (4) reported that 14 rabbits in 39 rabbits relapsed when treated only with chlormaphenicol. Penicillin is first choice for syph- ilis treatment in humans and rabbits (1), but penicillin may cause enterotoxemia in rabbits. The effective dose range from 42,000-84,000 IU/kg (1,5).
In this case report, the rabbits were treated with 3 injec- tions of penicillin G 42,000 IU/kg given every 7-days and oral chloramphenicol 50 mg/kg twice a day for 3 weeks. Pen- icillin was used the lowest dosage to prevent enterotoxemia.
The rabbits were re-examined 1, 2 and 3 weeks after treat- ment. Owners observed that the crusts were significantly decreased from 5-7 days after treatment. After 3 weeks of treatment, there were no crusts observed in the rabbits. The
rabbits were treated successfully without adverse reactions such as anorexia and diarrhea. No recurrence was detected at 3-4 months after treatment.
This case report suggests that a treatment with minimal dose of penicillin and chloramphenicol is effective for tre- ponematosis in pet rabbits.
References
1. Harcourt-Brown F. Skin diseases. In: Harcourt-Brown F. ed.
Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, 1st ed. Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2002: 224-248.
2. Paterson S. Skin diseases and treatments of rabbits. In:
Paterson S. ed. Skin Diseases of Exotic Pets, 1st ed.
Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford 2006: 288-311.
3. Saito K, Hasegawa A. Clinical features of skin lesions in rabbit syphilis: a retrospective study of 63 cases (1999- 2003). J Vet Med Sci 2004; 66: 1247-1249.
4. Saito K, Hasegawa A. Chloramphenicol treatment for rabbit syphilis. J Vet Med Sci 2004; 66: 1301-1304.
5. Saunders RA, Davies RR. Infectious diseases. In: Notes on Rabbit Internal Medicine, 1st ed. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford 2005: 175-198.
Fig 1. (A, C) There were crusty lesions in lips or nose. (B, D) There were no crusts at 3 weeks after treatment.
Dermatitis Associated with Treponematosis in Pet Rabbits 627
애완 토끼에서 토끼 매독에 의한 피부염
김상훈·이상은*·송근호·김덕환1
충남대학교 수의과대학, *충남대학교 동물의과학연구소
요 약 :토끼에서토끼매독이라불리는 Treponematosis는Treponema cuniculi에의해 유발되는전염성질환이다. 본 증례보고에서 5 마리의토끼가 입술, 생식기, 코주변에 심한딱지로 내원하였다. 피부 소파검사와 곰팡이배양검
사에서음성이었다. 인체 매독항체검사는양성이었다. 토끼들은 penicillin과 chloramphenicol로 3 주간치료를했다.
딱지는치료 5-7일후부터상당히감소를했다. 치료 3 주후토끼들에게서딱지는관찰되지않았다. 토끼들은상기의
치료로부작용없이 성공적으로치료되었다.
주요어 :매독, 토끼, chlormaphenicol, penicillin.
